Peter Grundy
is an illustrator and designer who has specialized in information
design for over thirty years. His latest book, a collaboration with
author Simon Rogers,
Infographics: Human Body
,
simplifies a variety of complex facts about the human body with
Grundy's signature entertaining and informative info graphics. The book
is available now.

Why did you decide to focus specifically on a career in information design?
I went to the Royal College of Art in London in the late 70s at a
time of dynamic, creative energy; most students went into advertising or
design groups to pursue brochure, packaging, and corporate identity.
This was a time pre-technology when the tools of an art director were simply good ideas and "balls."
I met Tilly Northedge at the RCA, and we became interested in a
tired, overlooked area of design that was more about explaining things
than selling things, and when we graduated, we set up a design studio to
do this work in a more creative and imaginative way. The studio was
Grundy & Northedge. We worked together for twenty-five years. When
Tilly retired in 2006, I renamed the studio
Grundini
.

How would you describe your style?
The main component of my work isn’t style, it's ideas. The methods I
use to visualize these ideas have evolved from the need to communicate
simply.

Your work involves both simplifying complex subjects and making
them visually appealing. Which aspect (simplifying the topic or making
the image visually appealing) do you focus on first? Or does it depend
on each individual project?
Simplification is complicated, when you take stuff away from an
image you need different skills to retain interest and elegance. My
skills are more typographic than illustrative.

How has your work evolved over the past several decades?
It's become simpler, which requires more confidence, and that comes
with time. It also started without new technology and now uses new
technology, but you wouldn’t notice the join.

What would be your ultimate iconography dream project?
I’ve always fancied being the artist in residence at NASA.

Your new book,
Information Graphics: Human Body
,
tackles nearly every imaginable topic related to the human body, from
the separate layers to diseases and reproduction. What inspired you take
on such a broad and extensive subject?
It wasn’t a new idea; the human body has after-all been "booked" a
thousand times. But the project interested me because I wanted a chance
to simplify the body to an almost-ridiculous state and make it fun for
the age group. In other words, you’ve got the books that look at the
body in great detail, my book is a chance to look at it in as little
detail as possible.

Do you have a personal favorite topic or page from the book? Which one?
The human heart (p x) was, I felt, a way of making the heart, which
isn’t a pretty thing, visually something quite beautiful and
descriptive. (See below.)

What was the most difficult topic to make both simple and attractive?
Guess that’s the toilet contents.

Are there any specific changes in your approach when creating infographics designed mainly for children rather than adults?
No.

Finally, what advice would you give for illustrators looking to pursue a career in information design?
When I was a student, a tutor told me that an information designer
should never let his or her personality stand in front of the
information. I thought, "to hell with that."